The Night Owl’s Visit
Count Willem-Blanc-Legol’s Perspective
With the war over, daily life had returned to the town of Legol.
Fortunately, the damage from enemy invasion was extremely minimal, and several preparations went unused. A pleasant miscalculation. Various recalculations would be necessary, but nothing is as easy as positive revision work.
Moreover, a delicious confectionery shop had recently opened on the outskirts of town.
The confectioners in the noble district are apparently in a panic, but the taste justifies it. According to what I heard before, the shop owner, a man named Ken, used to be a confectioner in the royal capital.
I feel sorry for the confectioners in the noble district, but as far as I’m concerned, anywhere with good taste is fine.
Ah, I can hear my assistant’s busy footsteps from the hallway.
Just when I was in the mood to eat some sweets, he’s probably bringing more work.
Could he not show a little more consideration for his master?
“Willem-sama, you have a visitor.”
“Mm. Who might it be?”
“Night Owl-Mont-Cristol-sama.”
“!? Eh, wh-what, Night Owl!? I-I wasn’t told!”
“Neither was I. When I saw Cristol-sama arriving on horseback, I doubted my eyes.”
And on horseback too!
Come on… give me a break. Even if we’re close friends, I have my dignity as a nobleman to maintain…
Anyway, I need to get properly dressed quickly. It would be rather awkward for him to see this office as it is right now…!
“And Willem-sama. I apologize. Actually, he’s already waiting outside the door. Cristol-sama is.”
“What!?”
“Excuse me.”
The door was flung open, and the man entered without my permission.
Over 2 meters tall. Thin as pampas grass. Yet even over his fine clothes, you could see a body honed through training and never neglecting exercise.
A somewhat elongated face and frightening eyes that bulged like an owl’s.
Everything about him was the opposite of me.
“…Hah. Again, Willem. Always a life soaked in work and sweets… I keep telling you to exercise your body occasionally.”
“Well… I do go out sometimes? Into town…”
“Knowing you, you’re probably going out to eat sweets.”
“Hahaha… w-well, sit down, Night Owl. If you came on horseback, you must be tired.”
“…Good grief.”
His name is Night Owl-Mont-Cristol, Marquis.
A capable court noble living in Imblium, the royal capital of Harpelia, and… one of my few friends… apparently. At least, that’s what he says.
“I accompanied my cavalry unit’s training for the first time in a while. Cut straight through Harbin Highway. You’ve maintained the roads well. Thanks to that, I had time to spare in my journey. I can even drink wine here like this.”
“Well… we do maintain the roads. Since the population increased, we have the manpower for it.”
“Being able to allocate resources where needed is one kind of talent.”
Since Night Owl had come all the way from the royal capital, I decided to take a longer break.
When talking with him, I can’t work at the same time. His motto is “relax when you can relax.”
“Night Owl. You’re the one who sent me the ‘Moonlit Grim Reaper,’ aren’t you?”
“Well, who knows?”
“That was helpful. Not just the information, but… thanks to his training, our soldiers’ skill level improved. I’m sure it was useful on the battlefield.”
“…I see, so that’s what happened.”
He continues to smoke his pipe, maintaining his ignorant facade.
The “Moonlit Grim Reaper” is a highly classified unit. We can’t let it be known whose orders they follow or how they operate. So even between him and me, he can’t state it explicitly.
Well, that’s fine. As long as my gratitude gets through to him.
“How are things in the royal capital?”
“Same as always. Neither good nor bad. The number of people who have it out for Legol has decreased, but merchants still look down on it.”
“…That’s something I can’t do anything about.”
“Right. Legol already shows sufficient consideration for surrounding cities. The ones complaining are all incompetent. Let them talk.”
“I hate being talked about though…”
“How many years have you been a count? Be more confident.”
“I can’t… I never feel like I’ll get used to it. It makes my stomach hurt…”
“You don’t have such a weak stomach.”
Night Owl
My encounter with him goes back to my childhood.
Since I didn’t attend the academy, I was always shut away in the mansion and had no contact with people.
In such circumstances, the Christol family, who came as guests, were people I had many opportunities to meet with. Of course, it was mainly for meetings with my older brothers rather than with me… but even so, for me, it was a precious opportunity to gain a friend.
Night Owl hasn’t changed since the old days.
Even now, he comes rushing over gallantly like this, forcibly opens the door to my room where I tend to shut myself in, and talks to me.
…I have a good friend. I truly do.
“So, Night Owl. You came here because you have something to talk to me about, right? You shouldn’t have enough free time to just accompany the cavalry training…”
“Ah, well, that’s true… No, I had prepared something to talk about, but it’s a bit… I’d like to put a bit more cushioning before I say it.”
How unusual. For Night Owl to hesitate this much.
Is it that unpleasant a topic to discuss? …No, he’s making a proposal that would make me reluctant.
“Ah, I have a rough idea… It’s about Lord Chaos, isn’t it? Night Owl.”
“…Ah, no, well, that’s not entirely untrue, but…”
Oh, that’s not it? I thought he had come to propose some negotiation or deal in that direction and was bracing myself.
“The thing I wanted to talk about is… Willem, would you consider marrying my younger sister?”
“…What? Marriage? Sister?”
Sister. The Christol family is large. But I know the family composition well.
Night Owl has several sisters, but among them, the sister who isn’t married or engaged… there’s only one who fits that description.
The youngest sister, far apart in age. The poor child who was engaged to my second older brother, but when he died, she got saddled with unfortunate nicknames like “cursed” in rumors…
“It’s my youngest sister, Stacy. You’ve met her before, haven’t you? She still can’t marry because two of her fiancés have died, and she’s an odd girl, but… she seems to have taken an interest in you.”
“Eh, ehhh?!”
“Oh, energetic as always.”
I involuntarily stood up from my seat.
Wh-what, what should I do? What should I do, what should I do?
“Is this a trap?!”
“…I won’t say you’re being rude. Well, from your perspective, this is certainly out of the blue…”
“No, I, I myself, and for Legol, it’s a grateful proposal, but…! Night Owl, it’s cruel to disregard Stacy-san’s feelings! Of all people, with me as the partner…”
“Don’t put yourself down. You’re a noble.”
“Ah, ow!”
A kick from Night Owl’s long leg flew at my head.
Ow ow… I haven’t been hit like that in a while… He’s probably holding back, but I’m against violence…
“The currently popular unmarried Count Legol. You must be getting tons of such proposals.”
“…Well, yes, really tons. I keep declining them though…”
“Have more confidence in yourself… Because you stay single like that, everyone around you can’t decide their stance and gets anxious. Think about it logically…”
“…I’m scared of women.”
“…I won’t say you need to fix that right now, but you’re at an age where you can’t keep saying that.”
I’m bad with women. I’m bad with men too, but women are even worse.
Being laughed at by women taller than me, having arranged meetings with them desperately enduring their disgusted expressions… various things are just unpleasant.
“Ah, and about what I said earlier. About Stacy taking an interest in you… that wasn’t a lie. Apparently, the personal guard knight that Stacy recently hired is an interesting person. Stacy has a hobby of talking with people around her… her name was Bridget, I think. That female knight often praises you, so she became interested.”
“Bridget… Ah, Bridget-la-Samseria. I see, she went to work for Stacy-san…”
I’m surprised. I never thought such a connection would arise…
I certainly know that female knight named Bridget. I’ve talked with their knight order before, and I remember her high loyalty. She was an honest and very serious knight.
…There was a time when I wondered what would happen, but it seems she’s doing well in the royal capital. That’s good to hear… No, more importantly.
“Th-that… isn’t Stacy-san scared? She was engaged to my second brother, and he died, right? If I die next, won’t unnecessary rumors spread again…”
“No, you… isn’t that something you should be worried about?”
“But wouldn’t that be terrible for her? Second brother’s death wasn’t… it wasn’t any curse. And yet she gets rumors of being a cursed lady… and on top of that, marrying me, a Legol again…”
“She doesn’t care about such things. Besides, if you’re going to say that, you should prove it yourself. Prove that there was no such thing as a curse by making Stacy happy. Isn’t that right?”
…I’m stumped. No, I’m really stumped. This is troubling…
“…Um, Night Owl. Even so, doing it suddenly would be… how about starting with a tea party for now…”
“Hmm…”
With the pipe in his mouth, the wrinkles between Night Owl’s eyebrows deepen.
“Well, for you, that’s pretty forward. I’ll be satisfied with that answer.”
“…Ah, I’m starting to shake with nervousness. Wh-what should I do?”
“Too early, too early… This is severe. Maybe it was right to include a tea party.”
A tea party with a girl… and the other party is Stacy-san.
That… lovely child who I could only see from afar in the past.
…I wonder how beautiful she’s become now… I have such thoughts.
But more than that, I’m still scared. What should I do…
What kind of sweets do girls in the royal capital eat…?!
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